Karla's Cottage

Celebrating a friend’s accomplishment

One of my book club buds, Dr. Margie Carr, has spent the last ten years researching a couple block stretch of a neighborhood in Kansas City that housed many successful and influential people over a 100 year period.  And now, the book is complete. A bunch of us from the group went to the KC library to hear her first (of many, I hope) talk about her story.

Local residents mentioned inside the covers attended, including this woman who is one of the girls featured on the outside of the cover.

I had not preordered my copy, but was able to pick one up that night.  Just in time for a signature from the author!

Not only was it impressive to hear a friend speak about the Kansas City  history she’d written about in her book, it was lovely to experience a part of the city I’d never been to.  Funny, I travel to other parts of the country to explore them, but rarely get out and look into what my own area has to offer.

This is a parking garage?!  Yep.

Where I live in Lawrence isn’t far from KC.  And heck, I’m in town all the time to shop, eat, see shows, or work at Good Juju.  What I need to is act like a tourist and see some of what I’ve missed.

There is a lot to be seen.

Once again, that was wine in the teacups

To celebrate Angie and Beth’s birthdays, we made plans for a day out, and I offered to make brunch first. But then, Angie picked up an estate sale to do, and between that and all of her other obligations, her time off for a whole day disappeared.  Our date switched to lunch and I decided to serve it in the gazebo to make it special.

Hmm, not the best picture of us, but you get the idea.

We had wine in our teacups, and drank it with our pinky fingers crooked while wearing floral garden hats and speaking in a British accent, of course.

I draped a little, round table in layers of clothes, and brought out the floral china.

The weather cooperated with perfection, but just in case, I added a fan and extra sun umbrellas to the space.

Teapots were filled with $1 flower bundles (our local Kroger always marks them down after the weekend) and I made place cards with “Angela” and “Elizabeth”  instead of Angie and Beth to be extra fancy.  

But “Karla” doesn’t come with a fancy option.

So I used the name my dad, Hubert, had written on my original birth certificate.

  “Huberta”

As in Huberta Josephine Downey.  

Yep, that was my name.  My mom changed it to Karla Jo.  Not nearly as much to roll off the tongue.   I think I could’ve grown up as a Bertie, or Birdy? Instead I was always Karkie Jo.

The silk flower umbrellas from my April Showers Bring May Flowers theme at Good Juju got another go round as garden party decor.  I’ve left them up outside a while, they somewhat survived a 24 hour deluge.  I’m not sure how many more uses I’ll get out of them, but I have enjoyed every bit of our time together so far.

We had dipped strawberries and lavender honey  dark chocolate for dessert.

I fixed honey butter toasted croissants, individual quiches, and fruit salad. 
Even though it was their birthdays, Angie brought sparkling soda and Beth brought a salad.  

Happy Birthday to two of the funnest people around!

 

There was wine in the teacups

Last Tuesday evening, I hosted a Mother’s Day tea party.  A friend recently lost her MIL, then right before the holiday, her own mom passed unexpectedly.  As I planned a get together for her I realized that none of the guests’ moms were still alive.

I thought we should honor all of the lost mothers and asked for photos of the ladies.

Then I picked some flowers from my yard to tuck into tussie mussies.

The plan was to sit outside by the fire and order pizza.

But I wanted a real tea party style gathering, so I made food instead and set it out on the table with the pretty dishes.

This tiered stand from Hobby Lobby, years ago (they still have them) always comes in handy.  On a daily basis, it holds fruit, but when company comes, the fruit goes in a bowl and this is used for serving food.

Earlier this month, I found a metal lamp base on a flea market dollar table.  It made an ideal holder for a stack of salad plates.  

My table is oak, and not the look I wanted for a spring, flowery party.  But it’s also huge, and I don’t have tablecloths to fit it.  So, I covered it in a painter’s drop cloth and layered these rosey placemats (50 cents from a garage sale this week) on top.

Focaccia bread isn’t exactly a tea party staple, but I baked it to look like a flower garden.

And how lucky were we to get a perfect spring evening? Just cool enough for a fire, but not so chilly that we’re had to be close to the fire for warmth.  It was more for atmosphere.

The table was a generous and exceptional hand me down from my sis, Terry.  And oh my.  It is a dragon mosaic made from genuine stones and can feature either a fire or umbrella in the center.

We just love it.  I call it my fire breathing dragon table.

And I love my friends.  I’m glad we had a night together to honor our moms and to sip wine from teacups.  
I think I’ll make this a tradition.  You are never too old to miss your mommy.

A buddy day

A dear and talented friend has art hanging at the Sabatini Gallery in Topeka, so we planned a day out to go see it.

Between my husband traveling for business, missing our annual RV/dog adventure to the beach, and plain old having a case of the I Hate Januaries, I was ready for fixing up and getting out!  I even polished my nails  - all of them!  Including the ones buried in wool socks inside Ugg boots. (Except they aren’t really Ugg boots, Costco has their own version for a fraction of the cost that I like even better than the high dollar ones)

Our first stop was meeting at Jen’s.  She still had her Christmas goodies up and we hadn’t seen them.  She wanted to show us her friend and family display.

There were handmade ornies from her artist friends, things she or her daughter made, and pieces created at our holiday craft days over the decades.

This is one I’d painted of her dog, Cage, after he passed.

And one from the year I was a featured artist at the Festival of Trees.  It was special to see decorations I’d made so long ago, lots of happy memories were tied up in them.

I should’ve gotten a photo of the whole display.  She has them tied to a lit garland above a window seat.

Our friend, Shan, whose work we were going to Topeka to see, also hosts craft days in her studio.  Every Thursday she invites us to do mosaics with her.  This is a little house Jen made at one of those get togethers.

The gallery show was impressive, and I thought Shanna’s piece was just plain old delightful.  Not only was I proud to see a good friend’s work hanging in a show that was filled with glass artists from all over the country (including Dale Chihuly!) I thought her piece really stood out in its dual design, the glass itself and the wall behind it.

Our day in Topeka included more than just Art.  We went for a drive in the country to see the old farmstead where Jen spent her childhood, went out for lunch, and did some junking.  Even with the bleak, washed out, Kansas in January scenes around us, it was a warm and colorful day. 

I love my friends and the years we have had together!

Glass ornaments as mini carafes

We had our annual holiday bookclub dinner at the cottage last week.  

As I usually do, I set the table with a hodge podge of mismatched pieces, but with kind of a theme.  And I tried a cute trick I’d seen at another party, using a clear glass ball as a mini carafe.

The way I’d seen it done was at a wine tasting and they used small, plastic ornaments. I really don’t know if those are food safe.  So, I bought the big glass ones (at Hobby Lobby on clearance for 60% off), washed them well, and glued on roses that I’d painted onto old sheet music.

At our party, I make the food and friends bring the wine, so I couldn’t pre-fill the balls with wine like the previous way I’d seen them used.  So I decided to use them for water, sitting on a glass of ice. 

Before everyone arrived, I poured one into a cup, to see if it really was a good idea or was just messy.  

Well, so so.

I had over filled the balls, and when pouring the water over the ice I realized that there was just too much in them.  And no where to set the balls down except right back on top of the glass, or they would roll away and flood the table.  

Oops!

 I quickly poured some water out of each ball, leaving just the right amount for the glass.  Ha, I’m glad I checked!

After dinner, the ornaments were party favors to take home.  


I should’ve made everyone take food home too, I made way, way too much.  As usual. I ended up putting this pie in the freezer for when the family comes home for Christmas.  And I served some of the cupcakes at another party. Oh, and I did manage to take care of the rest of the extra cupcakes.  

Somebody had to, right?

A few days after the book club bash, I was hosting a craft day get together.  And the day after that, Sugarwings was supposed to have a cocoa party, but it was cancelled due to an ear infection, poor kid.

Typically, I like to have all of my parties in the same week, so I only have to clean the house once.  And as I take plates out of the dishwasher, I reset the table so it’s ready to go for the next event. The cottage has a festive feel all week when it is party time.  

For the craft day party, I did use wine in the Christmas balls.

Which, come to think of it, probably makes them harder to rinse out if they are meant to be keepsakes. I am not sure if I’ll do this party trick again or not.  I enjoyed it, and thought it made the table festive.  I hope the guests enjoyed it too.

 

Bad Girls Christmas

Our annual Bad Girls’ Christmas was again hosted by Angie, in her serene palace in the sky.  It’s on the 8th floor and overlooks the KC Plaza, a wonderful view.

She is a caring hostess with attention to every detail. Everything there is always just perfect there.  Well, everything but my blurry photos.

This one was a bit blurry too, but you can still see the fun!

She lives near Kaufman Gardens so we walk over to see the holiday displays.  It feels good to be surrounded by blooms on a chilly, winter day.  

I brought gifts, Beth loves buttons.

Angie always picks up autumn leaves.

She went all Julia Childs on us and served Beef Bourgignon, and oh man, it was good.  But I’m afraid everyone had to listen to me do my (very poor) Julia imitation too many times.  

I am blessed with the friends I have.  And I know how lucky I am.  When Rich and I were first married, his job uprooted us a lot.  And I had two small boys, one who struggled pretty severely with some disabilities. Those guys both  kept me busy, and between always being new in town, and needing to be with the kids, I didn’t meet many people.

Ryan grew into a delightful, caring, witty man, but his childhood was not easy for him.  I think that his little body could not keep up with his mind, and his frustration about making himself understood, or to do what he wanted caused a lot of turmoil.  


Speaking of Ryan, I felt like I had a surprise visit from him!  An article I was reading mentioned street view on Google maps, and I’d never looked at our home there.  So I pulled it up, and there he was- mowing the field and getting some sunshine.

At first it was shock to see him, but after a moment, I felt a warmth of happiness, almost as if I’d looked out the window and caught a glimpse of him.

After finishing a scrapbook of my pictures of Ryan, I came across something I wanted to add to it with another photo on it.  Then it hit me.

I would never take another picture of my boy.  

So finding this one online was a Christmas gift!

He is always with me, and in my heart.  But I sure miss seeing him on that mower.  Or walking down the sidewalk. Or gleefully throwing his head back in laughter.

Losing a loved one, plus having had those early years of struggle, and loneliness without close friends, makes me even more appreciative of having good friends now.

 I treasure our times together.

At Marilyn’s Beauty Filled House

Recently, I met a new friend.

She invited some of us over to her home for lunch and to see her collections.

And oh my, what collections she has!

Her home left me speechless.  Which is good, because I am still having glitches with my blog hosting site.  So I will just stop talking and show you photos of her lovelies.

Enjoy!

 

The Beauty at Bridgerton

I am home from a varied and jam packed full of fun trip.

And speaking of jam packed- you should have seen my luggage!

I started my journey flying to Asheville, then hiking with my baby boy, then off to Charleston in a rental car  for Jenn Hayslip’s Bridgerton event.  I had one bag filled with kits to teach a class.

Plus my normal supplies to take my pal, Lori Oles’ class, as well as a selection of items to sell, and even more supplies for projects to work on at the beach.

Siesta Key was the final flight of my trip, off to see my sissies.

My two, overly stuffed, giant pieces of luggage and equally bulging carryon had to include warm clothes for the mountains, dress up things for the art event, and beachy outfits. Along with kits, supplies, wares for the market, and little gifties.

All I can say is thank goodness that suitcases have wheels.  Even if they don’t like thresholds and rolling onto elevators , those wheels made the juggling of all those bags possible.

Still, even with all that packing, I screwed up.  I didn’t pack proper attire for the big party.  I brought a dress, but it wasn’t fancy enough.  So, the kind hostess, who also has multiple, amazing, to die for closets full of gorgeousness, had me try on her clothing until we found something that could work on a grandma attending a ball.  

Jenn’s wardrobe is suitable for being the bell of the ball every day of her life and it was a joy to be invited to play in those closets!  Here is what she wore.  And the dress she loaned to Lori.  Neither one of us packed right.

Everyone else brought their finest gowns!  Oh my, the dresses were lovely.

Looked at this beauty! Wow!

Jenn’s adorable husband got it right and was a great sport while looking cute as can be.

Jennifer does not miss one detail when it comes to making every aspect of her events perfect.

So I felt bad about letting her down with my lack of fabulousness.

But that kind hearted lady was gracious and generous about finding a fix for my attire.

I felt very pampered instead of embarrassed by the way she handled my faux pas.

Everything about being in this luxurious home was pampering. 

And beautiful.

Simply, delightfully, beautiful.

I could’ve just wandered around and gawked all day, the home was that pretty.  Lori and I wanted to play a drinking game, where every time we heard someone say the word PRETTY, we would take a shot.  But, since I am a very bad drinker and have never done a shot in my life, I’d have lost quickly.  I’m more of a wine sipper.

Every city that I visited and all the people I saw, made for such a lovely adventure.  I’ll leave you more pictures of Jenn’s perfectly detailed and pretty, pretty, pretty party for now, and will have more about the rest of my travels later.

Cheers!

Dolly do-overs

The Halloween witches and zombies that I showed you previously started out with a bag of old dolls.  I sorted them into categories-

• beyond repair became zombies
• sorta bad shape, witches (if the skin was messed up, I repainted them green like Elphaba)
• decent shape, but needed work, angels

It is not even Halloween yet, but I zipped through my ghoulish gals in time to take into Good Juju’s September and October sales am now sparkling up some angelic babies for the November First Friday.

This one is actually a tree topper from the 60s.  Her base is a cone to fit on a Christmas tree.  I reused her wings on the smaller girl and made new ones for her from curled feathers.  Both had their hair replaced with wool roving.

My pal Tami invited us over for a craft day and offered styrofoam pumpkins to make over (mine is covered in lace) and tart tin dolls for the projects. I also whipped up my two angels and a few lil schroomies.

She went to a lot of trouble with her sleepy eyed doll.  It required sawing it in half, and gluing in a cork that was also cut in half to the doll could be put back together with the tin in the center.  

The tin makes a cute skirt top, doesn’t it?  Thanks, Tami, for the fun day filled with lovely projects!

A special celebration in the country

Isn’t this deliciousness just beautiful?  Well, EVERYTHING at Julie’s house was.  Don’t ask me why I didn’t take more pictures, because I just don’t know. 

I am kicking myself that I can’t share it all, every detail was more special than the one before.

From the moment we pulled into the drive.

The food, the displays, the home tour, the company, the gifts, well, on and on.  What a delightful day. We gathered to celebrate Tami’s birthday and her buddies, Nora and Julie hosted this delectable day of friendship.

Julie not only has a perfectly edited and designed farmhouse filled with vintage treasures, she has a she shed.  

And an event barn.  

And a pond.

And well thought collections.

And gorgeous landscaping.

Do you know what I had?  A camera that I barely used.

Here is a little bit of the event barn.

They host weddings and other parties there.  

We sat in the barn for our bird nest craft. Nora provided silver vessels to choose from and moss to form a nest.

That’s it on the photos for the day.  Take my word for it, absolutely everything was wonderful.